Welcome to Blaq Natural Hair

Hello and welcome to my Blaq Natural Hair blog. I am starting this blog because I am still new to my own natural hair journey. It's been one year of growing out my relaxer and nearly one year fully natural...
Read more:
HERE

Black women have been exploring different ways to wear and style
their hair in more natural ways than ever. Though some women have
embraced natural hairstyles long before the recent boom and trend, its
still a very popular thing to do because we are growing to accepting and
enjoy our natural selves.

We have posted below some hairstyles
below to show that dreadlocks are very versatile and is a beautiful way
to displaying natural looking hairstyles.

We
have to say that we believe black women CAN grow long hair. Many black
women believe that can not grow long hair because that is the myth many
of us are accustomed to. It's a stereotype that we have to look like the
European women to be beautiful and that just isn't true. Firstly, if
some of our women would lose the wigs, weaves and extensions, they can
give their hair the air and room to breathe properly. The women who
abuse their hair with these products know they are only covering up the
damage that has already been done; which is probably the only
alternative they have now.

Ultimately, these women are falling into the
trap of destroying their scalps and hair forever and making the
retailers super rich. Now, that was our take, let's see what the study
says about why black women can't grow long hair.

A recent group of
studies show that “iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common
nutritional deficiency worldwide.” According to WebMD, a review of 40
years of research shows that iron deficiency has a much closer link to
hair loss than most doctors realize, and it may be the key to restoring
hair growth, Cleveland Clinic dermatologists said.

“We
believe that treatment for hair loss is enhanced when iron deficiency,
with or without anemia, is treated,” Leonid Benjamin Trost, MD;
Bergfeld, MD; and Ellen Calogeras, RD, MPH, write in the May issue of
the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Study researcher
Wilma Fowler Bergfeld has been doing this for years. And she’s finding
that whatever the cause of hair loss – for both women and men ‐‐ having
too little iron in the blood makes it worse.

“Though they are
others things you can do nutritionally and topically to stimulate, and
promote your hair growth, as well as maintain overall healthier hair,
adding iron, in the right balance, could make a world of difference.
Iron deficiency can cause hair to be very dry, brittle and prone to
breakage; couple that with styling, manipulation, poor hair care,
chemical treatments, and poor nutrition, the hair is not going to be in
optimal shape to maintain the right ph, moisture, and elasticity, to
keep it from breaking and shedding unnecessarily, and it will be less
likely new hair will even grow."

Thursday, May 1, 2014

We think this is a disgrace and it should
be outlawed. Unfortunately, the army has its own lawyers, laws and
government and this makes it very difficult to get true justice. We are
praying for these women because this is not only a conspiracy but its
slavery.

Read the story below:

In
reaction to a new Army regulation banning numerous hairstyles — twists,
dreadlocks and large cornrows — popular with black women, the 16 women
of the Congressional Black Caucus have asked Mr. Hagel to overturn the
regulation on behalf of the 26,700 African-American women on active duty
in the Army. The regulation comes at the same time as a new Army rule
banning tattoos on the face, neck, hands, fingers and lower arms of
recruits.

Both
regulations are among new grooming standards that critics say are meant
to further weed people out of an Army reducing its size from its
post-9/11 peak of 570,000 to as low as 420,000 in the years to come.
Representative Marcia L. Fudge, the Ohio Democrat who is chairwoman of
the black caucus, said she had been struck in recent visits to military
bases by how many soldiers — black and white — said they felt they were
being pushed out of the military. The new regulations, announced on
March 31, have intensified that feeling, she said.

Yep.
We can see why this is happening. They don't want black women to be in
the army so they use 'natural hairstyles' as an excuse to push them out.
America accepts so many things in this world but they still hate the
black woman for being who she is.

Monday, February 3, 2014

So You Don't Work Out Because of Your Hair? Dr. Phoenyx Austin Reveals Biggest Fitness Mistakes

The author of the new book “And That’s Why You’re Fat,” by Dr. Phoenyx Austin, breaks down the excuses for why black woman say they can not work out because of their hair and other excuses too.

“You can’t put your hair above fitness, above health [or] above your body,” said Austin. “There
are women with natural hair who avoid working out because they don’t
want to mess up whatever ‘do they’ve got. You have to keep the
maintenance of your hairstyle simple.”

She also
gives tips such as using apps, keeping a food journal, and maintaining a
regular work out schedule to getting in better health.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Blaq Natural Hair: Actress Lupita Nyong'o Wins Awards for Role in '12 Years a Slave'

We
can't help but notice, along with the world, that beautiful actress
Lupita Nyong'o and her natural hairstyle. Some may think its too short
and not feminine but she is very elegant and posed.

Nyong'o reveals why she shaved her head after relaxing it for years:

"It
happened when I was 19. I had relaxed hair and it was up to my
shoulders and I'd go to the salon every week to have it curled or
retouched. And I dyed my hair green and blue and maroon and you name it.
Two things happened; I got fed up of going to the salon. I just wanted
less time grooming so I could get more stuff done. And then also I
realized if I continued messing up with my hair I would be completely
bald by the age of 40. So I just shaved it all off and I was completely a
skinhead. And it was so liberating. And I discovered the shape of my
head wasn't so bad. And so I grew my hair a little and ever since then I
just don't have the patience to grow it again. But I do enjoy wearing a
wig from time to time in the privacy of my house," Nyong'o says. Source

She also stated in that interview that she grew up with very bad skin until her mother took a trip to Madagascar and found alternative and medicinal herbs is when she found out how beautiful her skin really revealed.

News reports about her latest award:

Nyong’o won for supporting actress at the 20th annual SAG Awards in Los
Angeles on Saturday for her performance as the singular slave Patsy in
Steve McQueen’s historical drama “12 Years a Slave.” She thanked McQueen
“for taking a flashlight and shining it underneath the floorboards of
this nation and reminding us what it is we stand on.”

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

We like that more and more black women in the field of media are taking on their own identity and wearing natural hairstyles. It shows how much we can be ourselves and not be conformed to society's image of us.

Natural Hair blogger reported:

MSNBC
correspondent Tamron Hall has been a natural girl, but it looks like she’s ready to share
her natural hair story with the world.

After 20-year in the industry, she recently shared her story with natural hair blogger Curly Nikki during a trip to South Africa.

“Like many Black women on television, straight hair has
been her professional life and look… that was until our trip together to
South Africa,” Nikki writes. “After hearing about my hair story and
experiencing for herself, the positive and supportive natural hair
community, she felt inspired to finally share her curly story with the
world.”

“In a moment of pure honesty, she also shared that she sometimes felt
a bit of resentment at her White colleagues who could wake up in the
morning and come right in to work, entirely ‘appropriate’ or
‘professional’, but that she’d have to spend hours- that she could’ve
spent resting or preparing- manipulating her hair to meet the straight
hair standard of beauty,” she continued. “Sound familiar any one?”

“Tamron has been natural for a while but most folks wouldn’t know.
Until this post, only close family and friends have witnessed the
awesomeness that is her curly hair. She shared that most vacations end
with her having to wear her natural hair and that when she returns from
vacation, she has to take an extra vacation day to get her hair
straightened for work. As we all know, straight hair is also beautiful
and the limited use of heat-treated styles does not necessarily prevent
us from having healthy natural hair.

However, I suggested to her that
the NEED to straighten one’s hair for personal or professional reasons
can sometimes become a ‘quality of life’ issue. Tam’s response…‘I
totally agree, and hope that being honest about my story helps other
textured women struggling with this issue to try going natural either
full or part time.‘”

Well, we hope she goes totally natural and move a trend in her workplace but we realize that may affect her 'quality of life". Hopefully she can do what really makes her happy one day soon.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Blaq Natural Hair: The Truth About How Box Relaxers can Damage Your Hair

We should all be aware of the dangers of using chemicals on our hair. Even though it is a popular way of straightening our hair, it is certainly not a healthy and safe way to do so.
Let's explore some of the reasons why box relaxers can and will damage your hair as an African American woman. We found this information over at BeFreeWithStyle.com and they make some valid points about the truth about box relaxers.

The truth is not pretty:

"...Anyone who’s ever had a chemical relaxer in their hair knows what a box relaxer is. It’s the cheap relaxer that is sold everywhere in a convenient box with everything you need for this process inside. The marketing experts have mastered the art of convincing the consumer (you) that this product will make your hair soft, luxurious and beautiful. Keep in mind this is harsh chemical and that’s what can damage your hair..."

No Lye Relax is a bold faced lie

"...Pretty much every single relaxer box that you see on the shelf will say that it’s a “NO LYE” relaxer kit. Well this is just a flat out lie. Without lye or any other harsh chemical, it would not straighten the hair. Lye is also the chemical in relaxer that makes it burn the scalp... The model on the box also gives the illusion that this product is actually good for the hair... This is not a product that is gentle and conditioning... My point is that these products are based on deceit. Don’t buy them..."

Relaxers have made with a lot of Calcium

"... box relaxers are loaded with calcium deposits and this is also what can damage your hair. Anyone that has used these relaxers has probably noticed how spongy, tangled and weak the hair strand feels after using this product. That’s because they put calcium in the chemical process to try and strengthen what’s been stripped out of the hair. The problem is that calcium can build up on the strand and make the hair more dry and weak than it’s ever been..."

Hair Breakage

"...So after you’ve been using these relaxer kits for any period of time, you’ll start to notice how weak your hair is. This is when the breakage will occur. Anytime hair has been extremely weakened through a chemical process, when the stronger, healthier new growth comes in, the hair starts to break. Also, trying to do a relaxer on yourself is very hard. You can risk overlapping on previously relaxed hair which equals more breakage..."

So there you have it, folks. Box Relaxers are dangerous for your hair and most of them have lye in them which make you hair weak and damaged by the product. We stand up for natural hair care and we hope this article through BeFreeWithStyle.com has made it more clear why if you are using box relaxers, it is damaging to your hair.